Xeno Chronicles
by JonnRos88
Summary: Squad 7 is warped to Earth. The only hope of returning home is through the defeat of the hostile Outsider race. Will Gallia's finest be up to the task?
1. Chapter 1

Gambit at Naggiar

 **This is my first fanfic, so reviews, comments and tips will be greatly appreciated.**

 **This is actually a bit of a crossover with the videogame "Xenonauts", as those of you who played that will see. I will not follow the Xenonauts storyline in every single detail though, so things will be a little different here.**

 **I (obviously) do not own any rights to the Valkyria Chronicles characters or any aspect of the Xenonauts game shown here.**

Corporal Brigitte Stark fell to the ground without a sound. The mortar shot barely missed her, and the shockwave was enough to send her tumbling down. She tried to get up. In the far distance, Imperial Tanks and troops advanced through the plain.

It was not going well for the Gallian forces. Imperial just broke through the main line, and were now steadily gaining terrain.

"It's that monster's fault. The Valkyria. She's mowing us down like nothing". One moment later, Rosie felt someone help her to her feet.

"You fine?" asked Sergeant Largo Potter. "I thought that thing hit you".

"I AM fine. Those Imperials down there will soon be NOT" answered Rosie in rage. The big Lancer stepped back as she grabbed her machine gun.

"Wait a second, Rosie. We have to regroup near the frontlines" argued Largo, raising an eyebrow.

"AFTER I deal with those bastards" answered Rosie, starting to walk away.

"It is Lieutenant Gunther's orders. He really wants everyone there now, especially us commanders. Do you really want to let him down this way?" returned Largo with his most serious voice.

Rosie cursed silently. At the beginning of the war, she met Lieutenant Welkin Gunther, a freshly nominated officer of the Gallian Militia. She did not like him. It seemed like he only got his promotion because his father, General Belgen Gunther, was a national legend. But after knowing him well, and after he brought them from one victory to the other, she gradually learned to respect him. In fact, she now respected him too much to disobey a direct order. Welkin Gunther was not a stupid and carefree high-ranking officer like Georg Damon. He cared for his men, and he always knew what he was doing.

"…I'm coming. Just give me a second". Rosie checked her weapon, and then she ran with Largo towards the rendezvous.

"Thank you all for coming so quickly" began Welkin as soon as everybody had gathered. "The situation is not good, but we made it this far. My next plan is to advance on the right side of the battlefield and attack…"

His words were cut short by the thunderous voice of Selvaria Bles, the Imperial Valkyria, resounding across the battlefield.

"Listen to me, Gallia!" she said. "Cast aside your weapons and surrender! If you do not, Naggiar's plains will drink deeply of your blood!"

The Imperial soldiers erupted in a choir of intimidating war-cries and roaring laughter towards the staggering Gallian lines.

The barely standing Militia soldiers felt completely lost. The Imperials had clearly the upper hand there. A loss at Naggiar would mean Imperials washing across the land once more. More blood, more suffering, more death…they could not take this anymore. Someone started to cry. A couple old veterans trembled, their hands shaking around their weapons.

Suddenly, however, one of the soldiers watched backwards, behind the Gallian lines. His face was utterly appalled…and frightened.

"Wait a minute…I don't believe it" he said. Soon, everybody watched back…and saw something nobody even dreamed to see.

Walking slowly but surely towards the Imperial lines was a girl everybody recognized immediately. Welkin's voice echoed through the air.

"No! She can't be a Valkyria!" But the truth was right before his eyes. Walking towards the enemy was Sergeant Alicia Melchiott, wounded by a mysterious sniper just a couple hours before. She was definitely in no shape to fight, but there she now was, holding both the Shield and the Spear of the Valkyrur…advancing menacingly towards Selvaria.

"Another scion to the Valkyrur?" asked Selvaria, with a surprised and slightly bemused face. "This world has no need for two. Get out!"

It was then that she started running towards the advancing Alicia, swinging her own Spear to crush her in a single hit.

But it was not to be. Alicia easily dodged the first attack, and soon the two Valkyries were fighting each other among an eerie blue light.

It was then, as everybody was watching, that it happened.

As Selvaria rammed her Spear into Alicia's another time, the weapons emitted a shrill noise that pierced the ears of the watchers. And then they broke.

A powerful blue explosion sent the two fighters backwards, and made the first lines of both armies stumble uncertainly on their feet.

"Alicia! NO!" Welkin jumped down his tank and ran towards the half-unconscious girl. As he did, a dark blue sphere of light appeared where the two weapons broke in collision. The remains of the two weapons were immediately sucked in.

"NO!" screamed Selvaria as she saw her weapon disappear. As she lunged forward, she was sucked in the strange vortex, and she too disappeared.

"What the…" managed to say Welkin, before a powerful force started to pull him towards the anomaly. "No! Damn it!" He tried to pull himself back, to no avail. But he couldn't stop Alicia from being sucked in a second later.

"ALICIA!" he screamed in terror. He stopped resisting for a second…it was all it took before he was pulled in the vortex. Then, the centripetal force increased, and although both armies were now running away from the strange phenomenon, some were too near to flee. Many members of Squad 7 ran forward to help their commanding officer, and were caught unprepared by the increase in centripetal pull. Mercilessly sucked in the vortex, they could not oppose the terrifying strength of it. Rosie was one of the last to be sucked in, even as Largo managed to grab her hand. As he himself was pulled in the anomaly, he managed, for a second, to see a lone figure run towards him and try to pull him back.

"Eleanor! NO!" he managed to scream, recognizing Captain Eleanor Varrot. But he still felt her hand grab firmly his as he was sucked into nothingness.

And then, the blue anomaly disappeared. Unable to start fighting again, soldiers from both armies watched the point where the two Valkyries and an almost entire company of Gallian soldiers just disappeared without a trace.

 **And so the first chapter ends! I will not be able to post regularly, since work is killing me, lately, but I'll try not to let too much time pass. And if this fanfic is appreciated, I promise the interested readers I'll do my very best to see this to its end. It will be a long ride, so you'd better buckle up!**


	2. Chapter 2

Line of duty

The first thing Welkin saw was the light. A really powerful white light that nearly blinded him for a second. Then, the yelling began.

"Stay where you are!"

"Do not move!"

"Hands where I can see them!"

"We need backup here! Intruders!"

"Will you fucking stand down, you damn bit…UUMPF!"

Welkin's sight slowly focused…and he saw at least eighteen men in blue uniforms pointing strange-looking rifles at him. Beside him, his fellow Gallian militiamen had already raised their hands, and two of the strange soldiers were gathering their weapons. Fighting noises caught his attention, and he shifted his sight to the right. Two other soldiers were trying to hold on to Selvaria, but she just kicked one of them away.

"Get your filthy hands off me, you insignificant..." The Imperial could not finish her sentence before two big men tackled her, bringing her to the ground. Another large and intimidating soldier grabbed a rifle and violently smacked her in the head with the butt of the weapon, silencing her.

Alicia stepped forward. "Hey, don't do that!" she said, before the large soldier pointed his rifle at her.

"Shut up, you! I have more for you if you interested!" he yelled, waving the weapon. "Back in line NOW, or I swear I…"

"Cut it out, Ivan" spoke a cold and unpleasant voice. The large soldier froze and immediately lowered the gun.

"General Andrianova, I…" he began, but the noise of a rolling wheelchair and the cold voice cut his speech again.

"Everybody, calm down. These are not Outsiders…apparently". A middle aged-woman in a wheelchair came quickly into view. As she saw her, Welkin noted she was missing both her legs. He had seen war amputees before, but there was something very authoritative…and scary…about this one in particular.

"So…I don't know who you are and, for now, I do not particularly care. What I want to know right NOW, is what you are doing in my base. And do not try to give me bullshit; I learned to detect it before you were probably even born"

Welkin didn't know what to say for a moment. Then he answered in the only possible way.

"We are members of the Gallian Militia. As for why we are here…well, honestly I don't know. I saw some sort of a blue portal open when…"

"Slow down, kid" replied coldly the strange woman. "Gallian Militia? What sort of military corps is that? Never heard before…and never saw uniforms like those…who are you, kid?"

"My name is Welkin Gunther…Lieutenant Welkin Gunther, madam. And this is Squad 7 of the Gallian Militia…well, most of it" answered the young officer.

The woman did not reply. Instead, she moved closer to him.

"Careful, General! They could be dangerous!" yelled the big soldier. The woman turned around and fixed her gaze into his eyes.

"Another word and I swear I'll stick your damn rifle down your throat. Now shut up and take that white haired woman to the Barracks cell block. I think she needs to…cool down a bit, she's way too emotional. Like your sorry ass" she concluded.

The big soldier immediately stepped back and ordered two other soldiers to help him lift Selvaria. The woman in the wheelchair turned back to Welkin.

"My name is General Nina Andrianova" she said. "You say you're a Lieutenant of this…what did you call it? Oh right, this Gallian Militia or something. How did you manage to get an officer promotion at such a young age? How old are you, kid?"

"I am twenty-two, madam. I was enlisted to fight an invasion of my homeland from the Empire of…oh, I guess you never heard of that either, right?" Welkin was at a complete loss. Who were these people? Why did they keep asking him those strange questions? How could they not know what Gallia was? Where was he?

"I don't understand anything of what you're saying, kid…but what really is important to me is to know you're not an Outsider" the woman looked him straight in the eye. "And I can see you're not lying to me. You really are some sort of soldier…and you killed before. I can read it in your eyes"

Welkin shivered. The woman's gaze felt like it was piercing his soul.

"You did not enjoy that. I like it" added the woman. "Lower your weapons, everyone"

The mysterious blue soldiers obeyed her immediately. The woman spoke again:

"I do not know where you came from, but I must ask you to follow me immediately. Only you" she added, when she saw Alicia stepping forward. The wheelchair turned, and Welkin followed the General as two soldiers took his sides with their weapons ready.

The small group took a corridor and the woman spoke again.

"Since you seem to not remember anything, I'll resume things for you. We were doing our business as usual, when suddenly you and your people appear out of nowhere in the area we were clearing to expand our facilities. Just like that. A blinding blue light, and then you were there. And your white-haired friend tried to punch Ivan Roskov…not an intelligent plan if I have to say"

Welkin suddenly remembered Selvaria being easily taken down by the soldiers. That was not right; she was supposed to be a Valkyria. Why did her body not emit the blue flames anymore?

"She's not my friend, General She is an Imperial…by the way, look out for her. She's very dangerous…and I mean really dangerous. I saw her tear apart tanks with her Spear"

The General paused for a second. Then, she continued her speech.

"Well, we'll do just that until I finally manage to understand why this is happening. I don't recall her having a spear of some sort, but we'll take care not to let her near it if you say she's dangerous. She was dressed differently, I recall…we'll have to speak of this Empire later. You don't really know where you are, right?"

Welkin shook his head. The General sighed.

"Well, I guess I can tell you. This is the main American base of the Xenonaut Initiative. Our objective here is to repel the biggest invasion in the history of Mankind, and you just got into all of this in some way. Now that you're my guest, I can tell you just this: every single one of us is in danger…I, you, your friends and all the people you see here. This enemy is vicious and does not take prisoners. Since I sincerely doubt I can send you back from where you came, you have to make a choice"

The General interrupted her speech, and stopped the wheelchair, turning around to face Welkin.

"Either you help us in this, and I warn you there's a fair chance you're not coming back, or you and your merry brigade are confined in the cell blocks…and you'll be extremely tight in there because we did not expect such a number of visitors. Of course, this means you're going to die if the Outsiders manage to discover us, because we're not letting you have your weapons if we cannot trust you"

General Andrianova looked saddened for a moment. Then she regained her composure and spoke again.

"Yes, Welkin, I'm asking for your help. I would normally not enlist someone I just met into a secret Initiative knowing I would probably just get him killed. The reason is, I have no choice. I already lost more men I would like in previous encounters with our enemies. I desperately need more people, and I cannot find them…and then you and your people appear". She pauses for a moment. "I have a good feeling about you, and I'm never wrong in this kind of things. You have military experience, and so probably do your companions…I obviously cannot force any of you into this, but I can promise I will try to…send you back to wherever you came from if we manage to pull ourselves out of this mess"

Welkin was taken aback from the offer. He heard a hint of carefully masked desperation in the woman's voice. Apparently, there was no way back to the plains of Naggiar for now, so he had to play along. However, he could not ask his men to blindly accept the offer, even if he was their commanding officer…and he would not accept the offer himself without knowing more.

"I may be able to provide help…but I need to know more before I can make a decision. Those are my men we're talking about. You're an officer too, so I hope you'll understand"

The woman hesitated, and then she spoke again. "I assure you I perfectly understand your predicament. I can share information with you, but you'll have to give me your world of honor nothing of this conversation will get out of this room…for now"

Welkin nodded with decision. The woman spoke again.

"This planet is called Earth…and half a month ago it came under attack from a species coming from beyond our skies…directly from space. This race outnumbers and outguns us in every regard, and we still don't know why they haven't invaded us on a full scale yet. They just send out small expeditions for now. Still, fighting them back is an extremely dangerous task and eight of our best men have already been killed. This is all you need to know for now. This Outsider race is cruel and apparently wants our planet for itself".

The woman interrupted her speech for a second, then she added: "I understand your people are in some sort of war too. I don't know how it's going, but I have a feeling you know what it means to feel cornered by the enemy"

Welkin nodded. He knew all too well, and knowing he was not there, fighting for his people made him feel useless. On the other side, the speech about a race coming from the stars spurred the interest of the naturalist in him. Even if he knew this was not really his war, he wanted to know more.

"I…I guess I'll accept. There is no way back, anyway, and I cannot just sit idly by when there are people risking their lives" he answered. "I cannot force my men into this, however. I will give them this information, and they'll decide for themselves"

The woman looked him in the eye another time. Then she made a condescending gesture with her hand. "It's more than I would have hoped. You can give the information to your men, but speak of this with nobody else outside of this base. I really trust you on this"

Welkin nodded, and the guards escorted him back to his companions.


	3. Chapter 3

First contact

"And this is it? She did not tell you anything else?" asked Alicia, still shocked from the unexpected news.

"This is it. And I'm going to accept. It's not like those will bring us anywhere now" answered Welkin pointing at the remains of the Spears as they were carried away by a scientific team. A cursory search revealed the Valkyrur weapons landed in the base with them…but they were broken, and the same happened to the Shields. The scientific team, led by a nervous man who identified himself as Dr. Peter Snidely, insisted on bringing the pieces in the Laboratory for a screening and Welkin knew immediately that wasn't really in question. So, he just stood there as the weapons responsible for their presence there in the first place were carried away by the base personnel.

"I…I think Lieutenant Gunther may be right" spoke Captain Eleanor Varrot, her voice still trembling. As the 7's were teleported inside the base, she hit the hard floor with her head and passed out for a couple minutes. Largo managed to bring her back to her senses by the time Welkin was back from his speech with General Andrianova. "I would normally focus on going back to the war we are fighting, but since the Spears brought us here and they're both broken…I think only these people can help us in achieving that now. So, it would be in our best interest to help them. The equipment they use is…quite astounding to say the least. I've never seen such things in my whole life, and they could be useful in our war against the Empire if we could manage to secure their help"

"That said, nobody's expected to do this just because we say so" quickly added Welkin. "We do not know the full extent of our new enemies' power yet…but it is enough to scare these people, so these…Outsiders…may be a formidable opponent indeed. However, I urge you to consider that helping these people can be our ticket back home"

The Militia soldiers looked at each other. Every single one of them was ready to fight and die for Gallia, but the whole situation they were in now was a bit too much to take in. Suddenly a voice rang out from the group.

"Some courage!" said a young woman, rising from the ranks. "We enlisted to fight, and now we have the chance to secure an ally that could change the outcome of the Gallian War! And nobody is ready to fight anymore? Pah!" Walking out of the assembled group, the Lancer Rosina Selden reached Welkin's side. "I am with him! Who else has the guts for this?"

The Gallian soldiers were all taken aback for a moment. Then Largo spoke first:

"Don't be silly, Rose. We all are with the Boss, now and always. It's just…well it's a bit too much to understand for me...people coming from the stars…if they told me back home I would have thought they were drunk or raving mad people. Just give us a break, ok? We have to speak of this…"

Largo could not continue. A piercing noise broke off the conversation and red lights abruptly turned on inside the room.

"What is that supposed to mean? Are we under attack?" asked Rosie holding her ears with her hands. "Or did they decide to deafen us?"

The answer came quickly. A grizzled officer in a Commander uniform rushed in, holding on to the red beret on his head. Welkin saw immediately that he was missing his left arm.

"Lieutenant Gunther, right?" he asked. "I am Commander Randall Knight. The Outsiders have launched a Ground Assault against an isolated settlement in Canada. We need to get a Xenonaut squad there before the local security forces are overrun. We are short half a squad right now, and you said you wanted to help. If you could provide us with four operatives right now, I would surely appreciate that"

As soon as he finished speaking, another young woman jumped up from the assembled group of soldiers.

"Those filthy bastards are attacking civilians? Oh, do they start to resemble the damn Imperials yet don't they? Well, I'm totally in this one, Lieutenant"

Then, she turned to Commander Knight:

"The name's Jane Turner. I'll do anything if it means those Outsider things get to SUFFER".

As Commander Knight was about to say something, Rosina Selden stepped forward.

"My name's Rosina Selden! I'm on this one too!"

"Alright, that makes two" answered Commander Knight.

"It makes three" answered Welkin.

"I do not intend to send my men forward without me. A leader always leads by example, if he is to succeed"

"I admire your courage, boy" answered Commander Knight. "But I must inform you, you'll be just another Private today. The operation is under the command of Sergeant Al Masters. You'll have to obey him first and foremost. He already battled the Outsiders and knows how to deal with them"

Welkin was momentarily shocked by the news, but he quickly understood it was only logic. It wasn't Imperials he was facing that day.

"My intentions do not change, sir. I'll be on the frontlines with my men"

"Good. Now if we just could find…" General Knight could not finish the sentence. A small figure emerged from the group.

"I'm Oscar Bielert, Sniper for Squad 7 of the Gallian Militia. Proud to be on board, sir"

The Commander looked at him for a moment. Then he spoke: "Come on, kid, this is no time for playing soldier! How old are you, twelve?"

"Fifteen sir. Ready to do my duty" answered Oscar, without breaking his salute stance.

The Commander was momentarily taken aback. "Is the pipsqueak serious, Gunther? We have no time to lose with this!"

"I can assure you he's one of our best snipers, Commander Knight. He saved the squad more than once"

"You gotta be fuckin' kidding me" answered Knight, looking at the boy again. "Alright, if you insist you're on board kiddo. Just…keep your head down, out there. I am not comfortable with this at all, but there's no time to check at the range. Let's go immediately!"

Alicia stumbled forward. "No! I…I will go too…" She fell to her knees.

"Come on, girl. You don't even manage to stand up properly" said Largo, pulling her up. "I don't know what you pulled there at Naggiar, but you're spent. You have to rest and eat something; you cannot fight with an empty belly!"

Alicia was far too weak to further protest. Largo and Rosie helped her sit down again and smiled at Welkin.

"Give 'em hell, Boss" said Rosie.

"Yeah, do your thing…as you always do" added Largo.

….

Commander Knight led his squad to the Barracks' Armory to equip. To his surprise, Welkin found that an M16 Rifle was not that different from the weapons he was used to wield in Gallia.

"Nice" murmured Jane with a smile on her face. "Grabbing one of these myself".

"Alright, this is for you, fancy Sniper" said Commander Knight handing over a MSG90 to Oscar.

"With this, you can hit everything you can see". Oscar grabbed the precision rifle and looked at it with interest.

"What about you, lady?" asked the Commander looking at Rosina.

"Well, I…wait a second, is that a portable machine gun?"

"Yes, it's a FN MAG. A very heavy piece of artillery, but one that can clear off the Outsiders far quicker than any other weapon"

"I'm taking that" answered Rosina "I am a Lancer and I usually use rockets, but I operated similar weapons before…they were all well fixed in emplacements though…"

"Are you sure, girl? It IS very heavy and the recoil…" the Commander stopped talking at Rosina's sudden glare.

"You see these muscles?" she said flexing her arm. "You dare doubt I can handle this?"

"Whoa, calm down, girl. If it's fine by you, it's fine by me" answered quickly Commander Knight. "Alright, no time to issue you with the standard Xenonaut Uniform…but your clothing is blue too, so it's not a problem. Take these helmets though. They can save your lives if you're hit in the head. Don't rely too much on them though. Oh, you'd better take these Beretta 92SB as sidearms and these Frag Grenades. You could need them out there"

"Thanks, sir. We'll put them to good use" answered Welkin.

"Ok, now get to the Hangar. The helicopter is waiting for you"

"…what's a helicopter?" asked Welkin.

….

Half an hour later, Welkin and his three companions were travelling quickly towards Canada aboard a modified CH-48 Chinook. A Sergeant, a Corporal and two more Privates shared the cargo area with them.

Welkin could not believe he was actually flying. There were no planes yet in Gallia, the first one being prototyped by his late sister Isara.

Welkin felt tears well in his eyes thinking how much Isara would have loved flying beside him even on such a dangerous mission. He forced himself to calm down. This was not the right moment for sad recollections.

….

Finally, the helicopter set down in a field not far from the attacked settlement. Welkin's team had familiarized with their weaponry by then, and was ready for the oncoming fight.

"Fan out, and eyes open" ordered Sergeant Masters. "The Outsiders could be everywhere and we cannot allow to be taken by surprise".

"I'll settle on that low roof" said Oscar. "I can get to it by scaling the wall, and it will give me a nice sight of the area".

"Smart thinking, kid. I'm with you" answered Frank Teller, the Sniper Corporal.

"We advance to the centre of the settlement and begin checking out the buildings" said Sergeant Masters. "Private Garland and Private Turner will be the breaching team. I, Private Gunther and Private Ziegler will provide cover. Private Selden, prepare to lay down suppressive fire if needed"

As soon as the Sergeant finished his speech, a blue bolt of energy wheezed past Welkin's head.

"Ambush! Find cover immediately!" yelled Sergeant Masters. As he threw himself behind a nearby wall, he returned fire with his M16.

"Where are they?" coldly asked Jane. Welkin peeked from behind the concrete barrier he was laying behind.

"I think they're inside that garage. I saw something moving inside, and the shot came from that direction"

"Alright, engage with extreme caution. There are civilians in the area" reminded Masters.

The voice of Oscar came with a crackling noise from the portable radio. "I confirm the sighting of Lieut…sorry, Private Gunther! There're at least three enemies in that garage! And I can assure they did not look human to me! They are tall, gaunt, grey-skinned humanoids in blue suits! Hey, wait a second, some have some sort of…black body armor?"

"Can't you shoot them?" asked Sergeant Masters.

"I don't have a clean shot, sorry. Garage is totally cluttered, and they're using that stuff as a very effective cover" apologized Oscar.

"Can you see civilians in there?" asked Welkin.

"No, Boss! Only those strange-looking humanoids!"

"Good. I have an idea" said Welkin, taking a grenade from his belt. He hesitated for a second and looked at Masters.

"Go ahead" quickly answered the Sergeant. "Better not to take any chances, and that garage is quite the good cover, even from snipers"

The grenade sailed through the air one moment later, and landed in the garage. A powerful explosion followed suit.

"You got them, Gunther!" exclaimed Private François Garland.

"Careful, everyone! Civilian in the fire range!" yelled Private Hans Ziegler.

Everyone saw the woman trying to get from her hiding spot to the inside of the nearest house. As she was almost there, the door busted open and another Outsider in a blue suit suddenly came out with his pistol raised.

The woman stopped dead in her tracks and shrieked. Rosina aimed her machinegun, but before she could shoot, the Alien fell back, his head pierced by a bullet.

"Who…" started Rosina, but Oscar's voice could be heard a moment later. "I got it, Boss! I got it!"

"That was some fine shooting, pal!" answered the voice of Corporal Teller.

"Get back to cover!" yelled Welkin. The woman threw herself back beside the dumpster she was hiding behind, and the young officer sighed in relief.

"DIE, Outsiders!" yelled Jane shooting wildly from her cover. Another enemy fell to the ground.

"The window!" warned Rosina. Welkin shot the Outsider who was peeking from the window of a nearby house on the left, and the creature fell two stories to the ground.

"Excellent work, guys!" commented the Sergeant. "I don't see any further commotion. Let's check out the area one last time, before getting back. As usual, stay away from the civilians and don't answer any questions"

….

As the group moved forward, Jane Turner slowly walked towards the Outsider she took down before. The creature was still feebly trying to crawl away.

"So…what do we have here? Oh, you're the one who tried to shoot me before, aren't you?" asked Jane with a cold and menacing voice. The Alien turned his head around and tried to crawl away from her, but the pain from his injuries stopped him.

Jane aimed her assault rifle and shot him in the leg. The Outsider shrieked.

"Mmm…yes…scream for me" muttered the woman with a strange glint in her eyes. She then proceeded to grab one of her grenades. The Alien shrieked again and tried to move away.

"No running away…" whispered Jane, then she armed the grenade and threw it.

The Outsider exploded, smattering purple blood on the nearby wall. Jane smiled…a horrible distorted grin.

"What was that, Private?" asked Sergeant Masters running back to her.

"Oh, nothing important, Sergeant. Just some…unfinished business" answered her, before proceeding in her inspection.


	4. Chapter 4

Outgunned

Later, at the base, the members of Squad 7 congratulated Welkin, Jane, Rosina and Oscar on a mission well done.

"I knew you could do this, Boss!" laughed Largo.

"Just like back in Gallia. Nobody stops Squad 7!" answered Rosina

"We managed to keep civilian casualties at a minimum. That's what's most important. Just like the Imperials, these Outsiders like to pick on unarmed people" commented Welkin.

"They almost managed to surprise us, though" added Oscar. "We'd better pay more attention next time. These enemy have proven at least a bit smarter than your average Imperial soldier"

"Nothing we cannot handle. They will pay for attacking this…strange planet we ended up on" muttered Jane. Welkin sighed. Everyone knew about the violent tendencies of Jane, but she seemed to take this invasion in a way more personal fashion than she used to even back in Gallia. He would need to speak with her about this.

"Well, it's not fair if you have all the fun. I'll be with you on the next operation, Boss. And do not even try to refuse!" grinned Rosie.

"I will not, Corporal. Just remember they won't let you retain the Gallian Militia rank, so somebody else will be giving you orders. We'll get to carry our uniforms, though…with the addition of a protective helmet"

"I have spoken with General Andrianova during your absence, Lieutenant" said Captain Varrot. "I like her. She's the kind of high officer I would be honored to serve. She genuinely cares for her soldier and she's smart…much smarter than many officers I have known in my life".

Welkin knew exactly what she was talking about. The General of Gallia's army, Georg von Damon was known for his recklessness at the point of outright idiocy that favored the Imperial invasion in the first phases of the war.

"Well, I got to go. Commander Knight promised me they would keep me informed on everything the local scientists would discover from the Outsider technology. See you later".

Welkin got up and headed for the Laboratory, where he found Dr. Snidely and Commander Knight waiting for him. Dr. Snidely was a middle-aged man from Britain, with long dark greying hair, a pair of glasses on the long nose and a five o'clock shadow.

"Good day, Private Gunther" greeted Dr. Snidely. I would like to personally thank you for your choice of helping us against the Outsider threat. And I would like to add your last mission brought something of great personal interest to me right into our hands. One of our enemies was armed with a rifle I definitely want to study. Understanding our enemies' weaponry will be the key to victory".

"Have you already done that report on the alien invasion? I need it ASAP, and you know it has priority on everything else" inquired the Commander.

"I already have it, Commander Knight. It will be delivered as soon as we finish the last details. I can, however, tackle more interesting projects now, and I think we should prioritize researches on Outsider weaponry. As you've probably figured out by now, it is far superior to our own".

"I personally think the doctor is right, Commander. Upgrading our weaponry was an important step in the war against the Empire and one that really turned the tables against them" added Welkin.

"That's good…as long as I get that report. We need it to shed light on our current situation" conceded the Commander.

…...

After a while, Commander Knight summoned Welkin in his office in the Barracks.

"Although your rank is now that of Private, your people still see you as their leader, and it would be unwise on my part not to take count on that. You can brief them on any news I give you. Now, on with more urgent matters. After the first encounters we came up with the name "Caesan" to identify the Outsiders. So far we've only seen their rank-and-file soldiers, along with less experienced troops we call guards. You may recall the ones with the blue jumpsuit. Well, those are the guards, so focus on the ones with the black and blue battle armor who have undoubtedly received better training"

"We'll be sure to do that, sir. Oh, can I ask you another favor?" asked Welkin.

"Well, it depends on what it is, Private" answered Knight.

"I heard we are planning on doing autopsies on the…Caesan…corpses. Can I help Dr. Snidely with them? I studied biology at the Randgriz University before the Gallian War began. I bet I could do as an assistant"

"Well, it's Dr. Snidely's decision, not mine. I'll ask him however. You're risking your life for a war that's not yours. I guess if you want to rummage around in Outsider viscera…well it's your call" answered Knight.

Welkin was pleased with the answer. Even in a situation that dire, his love for nature and biology spurred him to do some research on the corpses of those new and peculiar life forms. Who knew what secrets those bodies hid?

"Any progress on researching the Spears?" asked again Welkin, but he well knew the answer even before it was given.

"No, Private Gunther. Dr. Snidely has been really busy compiling a report on the alien invasion recently and he barely had time to look at it. It was however enough to understand these…Spears…are made of a material that cannot be found on Earth. I'll let you know if there are any news on that"

"Thank you, Commander. I'll make sure a squad is ready to help on the next assignment" answered Welkin, taking his leave.

 **Sorry for the long wait, but I had major issues with my PC and had to recover my last files and clean it up thoroughly before proceeding. The following updates will hopefully be a bit quicker. Stay tuned for more!**


	5. Chapter 5

The price of victory

The siren woke Welkin in the middle of the night. He dressed quickly as he ran for the Command Center. As he was reaching it, Alicia suddenly emerged from a nearby corridor.

"Alicia?" asked Welkin. "What are you…"

"I'm coming with you!" she answered with decision. "I'm not going to leave you to risk your life out there without me another time! If you're doing this…I'll be at your side!"

Although Welkin was heart-warmed in seeing Alicia's reaction, he was also very worried. The Caesans were not enemies they were accustomed to fight and they were much smarter than Imperials. They took the team by surprise and almost managed to kill him on the previous mission. He was very reluctant about dragging Alicia along in this…but he knew he could not decide for her.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "We barely managed to talk about the whole Valkyria affair…but it took a huge strain on your body. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes. Now I'm fine" answered Alicia. "And we'll speak of that later…but there's no time right now. They're waiting for us"

Welkin briefly looked at the Command Center door, then at Alicia, then at the door again.

"Yes" he managed to say through his teeth. "They…must be waiting for us. Just…be careful out there. This is not an enemy to be trifled with".

Alicia nodded, then they both ran to meet Commander Knight.

"Oh, Gunther" said Knight, looking away from the communications screen. "I was waiting for you. Our Caesan friends have made themselves heard again. This time, they attacked an isolated airbase in the Soviet Union. The Reds are holding them off for now, but they will be overwhelmed if we do not get there immediately. We need to form a squad at once!"

"I and Private Melchiott here are ready to provide assistance" immediately answered Welkin. "I don't know if somebody else is ready to…"

"We're here!" suddenly yelled a voice. Everybody turned to the door, where a small group of Gallian soldiers just entered the Command Room. Rosie was leading them.

"Did you think I forget our deal, Mr. Gunther? I'm coming along for the ride this time!" said Rosie smiling.

"And don't dare forget about me!" added Rosina Selden. "I just took my new rocket launcher and I'm eager to give it a try!"

"I'm on this one too, Boss. I've been practicing for this!" said Oscar enthusiastically. "I swear I won't let you down!".

"I'm coming too!" said Largo Potter with a huge grin on his face. "Those bastards are gonna…"

"No, wait a second" interrupted Commander Knight. "That's already five of your people. Now, not that I don't trust you or anything" he quickly added "But I've already decided to send Sergeant Masters, Corporal Teller and Corporal Jens Van Exel on this one. So, that's enough for now. Sorry, Private Potter. You'll have your chance".

Largo was definitely not fine with this decision and was about to speak back, but Welkin prevented him.

"It's fine, man. These missions play out a lot different than what we were used to in Gallia. We don't really need another Lancer in the field at the moment. I'd rather have you stay here and keep the training sessions for our guys more intense than ever. They need to be in top shape out there, and I can only trust you about that!"

Largo looked at Welkin and briefly smiled.

"Got it, boss. I'll supervise their training directly. Oh, and I'll take care of their diet too. Vegetables for everyone after the next session!". With these words, the giant Lancer walked out of the door.

Commander Knight was dumbstruck for a second. "Wait, what's with the whole vegetables thing? I don't get…"

"Argh! VEG-TA-BLES!" came Largo's voice from the corridor. "There's nothing better!"

"It's…a long story" apologized Welkin, remembering Largo's weird fondness for all horticulture-related things and his dream of opening a farm at the end of the Gallian War.

"Alright, time to get back to the operation. Take your equipment and embark immediately. We have an airbase to protect!" ordered Knight.

….

Hours later, the Chinook landed on the outskirts of the Russian airbase. Battlefield noises could clearly be heard.

"Alright, let's get to it at once" barked Rifleman Sergeant Masters. "Corporal Van Exel will lead Private Melchiott and Private Stark as an avant-garde. Corporal Teller and Private Bielert will advance with caution on the right side of the base and find themselves a place with a good sight on the battlefield. I'll personally lead Private Gunther and Private Selden to provide support fire for the advancing team. Watch your fire down there, Selden. We still have human soldiers in the area of operation.

Van Exel cocked his Mossberg 500 shotgun. "Got it. We're on point, Stark. You follow us and cover us with the assault rifle, Melchiott".

"All right, Corporal. Let's do this!" answered Rosie checking out her own shotgun. Alicia followed them silently, briefly glancing at Welkin.

"Come on, Private. We must reach the eastern hangar and provide covering fire for them!" ordered Masters. Welkin forcibly took his eyes off Alicia and rushed into the nearest cover, followed by his two teammates.

"Do you think they can see us already?" asked Welkin. "It was really close last time, and I would not want to repeat the experience".

"Don't worry, Gunther. We'll be safe behind that hangar wall. Just follow me. Be ready to shoot your rocket on my mark, Selden. If we act quickly we can take out most of them in a single shot"

"Enemy contact" said a voice on the radio. Sergeant Masters answered immediately.

"What is it, Teller?"

"Caesan. Two of them. They didn't see us. Just give us a second to dispatch them"

"Alright, just be…" Sergeant Masters could not end his sentence. A grenade explosion was suddenly heard in a nearby alleyway. A wounded Caesan guard limped out of it a second later, only to be put down by a sniper round.

"Good work, Bielert! Both targets down!" commented Teller.

"Wait, Corporal. I'm sure I saw something moving down there!" replied Oscar's voice.

"Yes, there's definitely…oh, it's just a Russian soldier. He's on our side, Bielert. Hold your fire"

The Russian stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw the Xenonaut operatives. He asked something in a language Oscar could not understand.

"Don't worry about it. Let me do the talking" said Corporal Teller. He then proceeded to confer with the soldier in Russian.

Meanwhile, Van Exel's team managed to get a good position behind a makeshift barricade. Alicia checked out their surroundings, while the Corporal and Rosie got ready to shoot down every approaching Caesan.

Sergeant Masters led Rosina behind the hangar wall, while Welkin climbed a nearby ladder to get to the hangar's roof.

"I have a clear sight on the field from here. No enemies in the area…wait, I see something!". Welkin aimed his assault rifle as something entered the field of view.

"Wait…no, it's a human! Still no enemies!" he sighed in relief as he saw a Russian soldier peeking from behind a crate. In that same moment the radio crackled.

"Sergeant Masters! The soldier told me they were holding the Caesans near the base entrance, but they broke through not long ago! We'll have them in sight in…"

"Cut that, Teller! I see them already, damn it!" cursed Sergeant Masters as four Caesan, two soldiers and two guards, entered his field of vision.

"Shoot the soldiers first!" yelled the Sergeant before opening fire. Alicia and Welkin shot the incoming enemies as well, and Selden prepped her launcher. Even the forward Russian soldier joined the shootout with his AK.

These Caesan, however, were not green recruits. As soon as bullets began flying, they ducked behind nearby crates for cover and returned fire. Blue bolts hit walls, blasting away the concrete.

"Moving forward to provide cover fire!" said Teller's voice on the radio. "Bielert is with me and…"

"No! Fall back into cover, they are already in posit…" Sergeant Masters could not finish the sentence, as a blue energy bolt flew past the shooting soldiers, hitting the now exposed Oscar squarely in his right shoulder. The young Gallian Sniper screamed as the alien shot burnt away his skin, and toppled backwards on the concrete.

"Oscar! Damn it, cover him!" yelled Welkin shooting madly towards the crates. The Caesan fell back into cover before being hit by the swarm of bullets.

"Fuck those greyheads! Come on, kid. I got you! Stay with me!". Corporal Teller grabbed Oscar as he started to fade into unconsciousness and dragged him behind a wall.

"Permission to shoot that rocket, Selden!" ordered Masters. "Blow those bastards away now!"

"Moving into position!" answered Rosina as she jumped in cover near a nearby truck. As a Caesan soldier showed himself to shoot again, the Gallian Lancer pulled the trigger.

One second later, the crates the aliens were hiding behind were blown away in a fiery explosion. Welkin sighed in relief and lowered his weapon.

"Nice shot, Selden! I'll…"

The Xenonauts' cover exploded in a ball of blue fire as Sergeant Masters' voice was cut short by the explosion. Welkin was blinded by the light for a moment and almost fell backwards for the surprise. One moment later the radio burst with activity.

"…surrounded! Watch out for…" Corporal Teller's voice was quickly substituted by the sound of gunshots.

Welkin saw Rosie slowly crawling on the ground. As he watched, a Caesan soldier suddenly appeared and quickly pointed his gun to Rosie's head. Welkin took aim, but before he could shoot an enraged scream erupted as Alicia emerged from the smoke and violently pounded the alien's head with the butt of her rifle. As the Caesan stumbled backwards, Alicia shot wildly, bullets perforating his body and sending him down in a spray of purple blood.

"Alicia! Stay in cover!" yelled Welkin as he jumped from the hangar roof. He landed on a crate and from there, he jumped to the ground. Alicia fell to the ground, abandoning her weapon. In was in that moment that Welkin realized all shootings had ceased.

"Alicia, what happened? What…" Welkin stopped as he saw the tears in her eyes. The blood on her hands. Red blood.

"No. Oh, please no…". It was in that moment that the smoke began to clear. The sight presented itself to Welkin many times, but he would never get accustomed to it.

The corpses of the Xenonauts were strewn about like broken ragdolls. The explosion tore them apart, making them unrecognizable at first sight. Welkin slowly approached the carnage, feeling his guts turn around as he recognized the broken and distorted body of Sergeant Al Masters. Nearby him, the barely recognizable remains of what had probably been Corporal Van Exel, now just a mess of blood and spilled entrails. He took the brunt of the explosion. And, not far from that…

"NO!" screamed Welkin at the top of his lungs. He ran towards the feebly moving form of Rosina Selden, covered in blood and crumpled against what remained of her cover. He reached her almost immediately, but he could immediately see that her wounds were beyond any hope of recovering.

"B…Boss…" she managed to say before she coughed up blood. "Damnit…oww…guess…we did it…right?"

"Rosina, don't talk! Stay down and…" started Welkin, but she feebly raised her hand to stop him.

"Don't…Boss…I know…I'm fucked. I…put that…into account…since the very…beginning of the war". She stopped for a moment, desperately trying to catch breath. "I…did not expect...aliens to…kill me however…" she tried to give a wry smile, but she coughed blood again. "I…did not expect…to die…on another world…

As they spoke, Alicia's steps could be heard behind Welkin. A moment later, she was joined by the still unsteady Rosie. Then, Corporal Teller's voice could be heard.

"They tried to flank me, the bastards! But I still had my pistol, so guess who…" he stopped shortly after seeing the carnage. His face paralyzed in an expression of horror. The Soviet soldier following him looked on the verge of mental breakdown.

"What the…how?!" asked the Corporal.

"Grenade". Alicia managed to answer. "One of the Caesan had a grenade. Saw too late…too late…" her voice trembled and she looked away from Teller.

"Lieutenant…" everybody turned around again as Rosina tried to speak again. "You…you bring them back! Bring…us back…home…promise…"

Welkin held her shaking hand, steadying it. "I will. I promise you, Rosina. I'm not leaving anyone here. I'm not…leaving you…here".

"Thanks" she said, then she turned to Alicia and Rosie.

"Girls…gotta get more muscles…this is what…not enough muscle…gets you…let this be a…a lesson to…"

Her voice stopped all of a sudden as the hand in Welkin's grip went limp.

As everyone started screaming or crying around him, Welkin forced himself to remain silent. It wasn't the first time for him. It would not be the last.

Such was the price of victory.


	6. Chapter 6

Chain of command

The voice of former Corporal Teller, now Sergeant was slightly unsteady, but the congregated assembly fully felt the meaning of the words he pronounced.

"We all knew Sergeant Al Masters. We fought with him first in Afghanistan and then here during the Outsider invasion. He was a great leader and I am proud to have served under him. Our condolences go to his wife and children…"

Welkin could not stand the funeral ceremony. It remembered him all too well of his own sister's after her death at the hands of a cowardly Imperial Scout. Even the thought of Rosie running after the assassin and riddling him with machinegun fire could not appease his spirit. To him, fighting was not about revenge, but about freedom from the Imperial oppression. He forced himself to listen to the speech:

"…Corporal Jens Van Exel, a soldier without fear of taking the fight to the first lines. He was an inspiration to us all, and a good friend of mine. He died doing his duty like a true soldier and we have to make sure that was not in vain. We will fight, to the last man if necessary, before we let those monsters lead us into slavery and submission. And, lastly…"

Sergeant Teller stopped and turned around to face Welkin. "I think it is better if you speak about your friend. I barely knew her, and I wouldn't make her memory justice".

Welkin did not like public speeches and ceremonies. He was a more down-to earth person who preferred studying insects in a field than celebrating at the Randgriz Royal Palace. Nevertheless, he knew he owed this, and much more, to Rosina Selden. The first to decide to follow him into this mad enterprise. The first one into the fight. The first to die.

It was just a moment of hesitation before Welkin stepped forward and addressed the small crowd of soldiers and various other base personnel members.

"Private Rosina Selden was not just a valiant soldier and not just one of the best Lancers in my Squad. She also was a talented bodybuilder, and everything she did, she did with passion".

Welkin stopped for a moment. He felt something heavy press hard in his stomach.

"No time to get emotional, Welks". He told himself, mimicking the no-nonsense attitude of his sister Isara. He sighed briefly before continuing.

"She was a bit…difficult at times, but every single one of us deal with his issues his own way. It is not for us to judge. Surely, not for me"

Welkin stopped again. Initially, he was not a close friend of Rosina. Things got better in time, but the first time he saw her, she was ridiculing Isara for being a "scrawny, useless Darcsen". He was later told Rosina was not outright racist, but she tended to despise everyone without physical strength.

Despite this, Rosina had to prove herself on the field of battle before Welkin could really come to trust her. He hated racists, and he was particularly overprotective of his little half-sister.

"She dreamed of opening a fitness center after the war" he reported. "I really hope someone of her friends can one day overcome the grief and fulfill her dream, as someone will surely step in to take her place in this conflict. As long as we keep fighting, as long as we do not let the Caesans prevail, the people we lost will never be completely gone".

An applause met the end of Welkin's discourse. The former Lieutenant bowed respectfully and went back to his original position.

….

"And…you did not see who gave you the weapons of the Valkyrur? We probably have to thank him for this predicament" asked Welkin looking Alicia in the eyes.

"I did not. After I felt the pain from the sniper shot, I passed out…then I have vague, blurry memories of Selvaria trying to kill me…I fought her, but it was like it wasn't really me, like it was all just a dream". Alicia shook her head. "And then I remember the lights, the people…and when my vision focused a bit, I saw this base". She shook her head again. "Sometimes I ask myself if this is not all a dream…"

"For what it means, Alicia, it is definitely not. People are really dying out there…and now my men are also dying" Welkin was drawn and tired. "You know, you can pull out if…"

"We already discussed this, Lieutenant Gunther" argued Alicia. Welkin sighed. When she called him "Lieutenant" it meant there was no way to change his mind. "I fight. We all still fight. Nobody backed off when you asked, and I'll not be the first".

Squad 7 did not took Rosina's death well. Her best friends Hector Calvey and Nina Streiss were particularly distraught, and the rest of the Lancers mourned the loss of their beloved "Lady Rose" with a toast to her memory. Nonetheless, everyone was still up for the fight and ready for everything to earn a chance to get back home. Welkin did not like it, but he could not stop them from fighting. Moreover, he could not think of a better solution. His superior officer Eleanor Varrot and his most trusted right-hand men could not find an easier way out either. The Spears of the Valkyrur were the key to return to Gallia, and the scientists were already studying them, but to no avail. It was clear the research will take a lot of time, and they could only pursue it when other, more urgent projects were not on the list…like the research on the aliens' weapons.

"…ok, Alicia. Just…take care of yourself out there. You saw what could happen all too well" concluded Welkin. "I have to get to the Laboratory in a couple of minutes. It looks like Dr. Snidely could find something he would like to share with me"

….

"Yes, yes, I was getting to that" replied Dr. Snidely to an impatient Commander Knight. "The technology in the Alien Plasma Rifle is powerful enough to represent a grave threat even to lightly armored vehicles, let alone a flak jacket. We do not have anything to protect ourselves against this, and…I'm afraid I will not be able to replicate this…"

"What?!" lashed out the enraged Commander. "Are you basically telling me all this research time has been for nothing? We cannot afford to lose time like this, doctor!"

"I just said" answered Snidely with more than a bit of irritation in his voice "I just said I cannot replicate the Alien Plasma Rifle. I did not mean to say I spent valuable research time uselessly. In fact, I tested it against a variety of materials and I am currently selecting the ones that resisted the most. Perhaps I can make something useful to us out of them…nothing capable of completely withstanding such powerful shots, however".

"And the report on the invasion?" asked Knight.

"Oh yes. I want to be completely sure before I give it to you, Commander…but if our analysis is right, we'd better prepare for the worst. This could become a full-scale invasion at every moment…we'd better be ready for it".

The Commander looked distraught for a moment, but he recomposed himself quickly. "Alright, I'll leave you to your devices, doctor. We'll meet later to decide about the new squad composition, Gunther. Oh, and…I'm sorry for your loss. I really am".

Welkin could not answer. He only nodded, and got out of the Lab.

….

Later that day, Welkin met Private Jane Turner in the Barracks. He shivered when her eyes met his. Welkin did not know Jane all too well, but he knew enough to figure out the girl was a barrel of ragnite ready to explode. She hated the Imperials with a fiery passion, but it was not just that. Jane loved to inflict pain on others, Imperials or not. Her mind had been twisted by…something in the past. Whatever it was, it was time to discuss this.

"Jane, Sergeant Masters decided to leave you home before…before the last mission. He told me you were…behaving strangely on the field of operations. I did not question him at the time. But now I have to ask…is there something you want to speak of with me now?"

Jane glared. Welkin swore he could see burning hatred in them for a moment. However, it was a very brief one, and it subsided quickly.

"It is about the first mission we were on, right?" she asked. "Well, Lieutenant, this is not something I like to speak of and…" she paused for a moment, and looked at Welkin, then she shook her head. "The truth is…this Outsider war is bad. And I mean really bad. We could die in any moment out there in Gallia, but here…here the enemy will be even more relentless. They outnumber and outgun us. If something does not change, we'll all be dead in weeks. We are cornered. I remember that feeling all too well".

Jane paused for a moment. Welkin could swear to have seen sadness in her eyes…

"Do you remember the assault on Bruhl, Gunther? Oh, I bet you do. Everyone from there does. What you cannot remember were the slaughtered civilians in front of a florist shop. The blood on the windows. The knowledge you will certainly be dead in minutes. You cannot remember that because that happened to me"

Welkin was shocked, but kept on listening.

"You cannot remember the three Imperial soldiers entering the shop. You cannot remember the rifle raised to my head and the broken laughter of the officer. You cannot remember the weapon misfiring"

Jane shivered for a second. "And it clicked in that moment. Even if the rifle jammed, I died that day. And those three soldiers followed. By my hand. One second of distraction was more than enough".

Welkin was still there, listening. He suspected something like that…but he couldn't stop being distraught at what he was hearing.

"I'm a dead person, Gunther. My shop was my life. They took it. They killed innocent people, and I wasn't able to help. They nearly killed me. And now…let's say seeing bastards suffer is the only thing that makes this wretch you have in front of you feel alive. I am not asking you to justify my actions. I'm just asking that you understand them. And I assure I will never be a liability…until the bitter end"

Jane rose from the chair. "Permission to retire, Lieutenant? I am quite tired and I'd rather sleep a couple of hours before I'm back in".

Welkin winced. "Of course. Permission granted, Jane…I mean, Private Turner…"

"Oh, don't bother with that. Jane is fine enough when we are not out there". With these words, Jane got back to her bunk bed, leaving Welkin in deep thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

Falling from the sky

An entire week had passed. Welkin was talking a stroll through the Xenonaut base thinking on the last developments.

Work was proceeding feverishly in the Labs. Dr. Snidely did not give pause to the research team in a desperate attempt to develop something to tip the scales more in humanity's favor. They surely needed that, thought Welkin bitterly.

Oscar's wound was slowly getting better, but the brave kid still needed a lot of rest and the medics were adamant on this point, despite his stubborn will to return in the field.

Rosina's corpse had been brought to a corpse freezer. Welkin had sworn to bring her back to Gallia when this was all over and he fully intended to keep his promise. General Andrianova herself assured him the bodies of dead soldiers would be almost perfectly preserved in that freezer, at least until the end of the conflict, when they would receive a proper burial.

"At least the still recognizable ones" thought the former Lieutenant. He could not take away from his mind the images of Masters' and Van Exel's mangled bodies. The Caesans, or Outsiders had clearly shown they would go at any length to take the planet. Stopping them as quickly as possible was the only acceptable outcome for this planet's population and, being a former officer, Welkin understood there was no way to do it until someone came up with the location of the enemy positions. Those strange flying things the Outsiders used to attack did not come from nowhere...they had to have a staging point…or even a base on the planet itself! No, it was not possible. A base would have already been spotted…

Welkin grabbed his head with both hands. It did not make sense. Nothing did in that strange war. And he and his men were right in the middle of it…

At that moment, the siren filled the base with a blaring sound Welkin was already getting used to. "Great. Here they come again". Turning around quickly, he ran towards the Command Center.

"We have an UFO on the radar" announced Commander Knight. "One of our F-17 Condor has already been sent to intercept it. If everything goes as planned, we'll show those Outsiders we can shoot them right off the sky. I have had enough of their unhindered attacks".

Welkin remembered the name. A Condor was another one of their amazing flying machines, one that was more geared towards aerial combat. He looked at the radar screen, without understanding much of what was happening.

Suddenly, Commander Knight walked away from the screen with an expression of triumph on his face.

"It is done! Get the other three ready, Gunther. We are going to take ourselves one of those UFOs!"

"We're already here, Commander" answered a determined voice from the doorway. Welkin and Knight turned to see Alicia enter the Command Center followed by Rosie, Jane, Sergeant Teller, Private Ziegler and two more operatives he didn't know.

"Good. Get there with the rest of the squad, assault that downed UFO and please, try to keep it as intact as you possibly can. We do not know what could be of interest to us and thus we must recover it in its entirety if possible" explained Knight.

"We'll bring you that thing back, Commander. You have my word on that" answered Teller with decision.

….

Plasma bolts hit the trees and hay bales around the field as Welkin grabbed a Smoke Grenade and threw it to provide cover to the advancing Xenonauts.

The aliens engaged them shortly after the landing in the Texas countryside. Unfortunately for the first guard, Rosie was already well positioned and ready to fire. One shotgun blast was all it took to dispatch the Caesan.

Another one fell as Alicia opened fire with her assault rifle before the remaining could take cover. As the Outsiders returned fire, Jane Turner jumped behind a rock to avoid the shots.

One second later, Welkin's smoke curtain welled up, making it impossible to distinguish the aliens anymore. However, a rifle shot could be heard, followed up by Teller's voice:

"Another one down. Proceed with caution, guys, there's more of them. Use the smoke to hide your movements".

Welkin moved to a fence and aimed his rifle at the last sighted position of the aliens. The rest of the team kept advancing, taking cover whenever possible. At a certain moment, the smoke cloud started to dissipate.

"Eyes open, men!" barked Teller. Welkin tightened his grip around the assault rifle and aimed, but the suddenly appeared guard was quicker. A plasma shot exploded against a rock, missing Ziegler's head of a few centimeters. The soldier immediately returned fire, and the enemy guard stumbled back, hit by multiple bullets. Before he could shoot it again, the unlucky alien was hit by a grenade explosion and fell to the ground.

"Got it!" yelled Jane raising her newly acquired shotgun up in the air. Ziegler thanked her with a quick gesture before resuming his approach.

"I can't see any more of them from here" warned Teller. "If there's more of them, they must be in the UFO. Assaults and Riflemen, prepare to breach the alien spacecraft!"

Something was wrong, thought Welkin as he moved forward. There could not just be a couple of guards. He could almost feel as if someone was watching him from inside that thing…

Rosie reached him in that moment: "Welkin, I got a bad feeling about this, how about we…" Rosie interrupted herself as a bloodcurdling scream filled the air. Suddenly, Jane started firing her shotgun repeatedly.

"Enemy!" yelled Welkin. As he rushed for cover, he understood something was amiss. There was still no enemy in sight. What was Jane shooting at…

In that moment Jane turned ninety degrees left and shot again. A Caesan soldier emerged from the UFO and aimed his gun at the distracted Gallian.

"Jane!" screamed Welkin, but she ignored him. One moment later, the alien gun fired.

And the plasma bolt buried itself in the ground without causing any damage. Welkin lowered his rifle and saw Private Ziegler with the smoking weapon still tightly gripped in his hand jumping behind a hay bale as Jane stopped firing.

"Favor returned, heh?" he asked. Jane did not answer. Instead, she turned around and quickly aimed her shotgun.

"Die, Imperial scum!" she yelled. Hans Ziegler barely managed to roll aside as a shotgun burst hit the hay bale where his head was a moment before. Before she could shoot again, Heavy Weapon Specialist Mei Nguyen and Field Medic Petya Ivanov forced her to the ground and managed to restrain her.

"Cover me!" Welkin checked his surroundings for a second before running to see what was happening, while Rosie kept her sights on the dark UFO entrance.

He found Jane screaming like mad and trying to free herself from her companions' strong grip. "Let me go, monsters! LET ME GO! SOMEONE HELP!"

"What the heck is with her?" protested Ziegler as Welkin got to the scene. "She started to shoot wildly for no fuckin' reason, then she tried to blow my head off!"

Welkin did not know what to answer. In that moment, Teller contacted him on the radio.

"What is going on, Gunther? What the hell is with Private Turner? What is she…"

Welkin wasn't listening anymore. He knew Jane was more than a bit eccentric, but she would never attack a fellow soldier. There was something terribly wrong with that…something that had to do with the UFO itself.

"Alicia! The UFO!" he suddenly yelled, then he started to run, moving for the left side of the UFO entrance. Alicia appeared on his left, pointing her assault rifle at the darkness.

"What is it?" she asked. Welkin kept running, but answered back.

"There must be something inside…something that is making Jane behave like crazy! Well, she actually is, but not THAT crazy, there is something at work and we must stop it before it happens to us too!"

In less than a minute, the two Gallian soldiers reached the side of the UFO. Welkin peeked inside the entrance. A lone figure scurried to the back of the ship.

"There is someone in here. Watch out Alicia, it could be very dangerous"

As he stepped in, Welkin felt a strange sensation in the air…as if something loomed over him in the darkness. He quickly looked up, but could see nothing strange on the dark ceiling. He stepped forward, with the assault rifle raised and ready to fire…only to see there was no one in the UFO. No one was hiding in the back of the room, and there were no rooms left. But Welkin was sure he saw someone retreating to the exact area where he was now.

He turned to speak to Alicia…and what he saw froze him to the spot.

Alicia was on the ground, in a pool of red blood. Her torso was charred and her internal organs could be seen through a gaping hole in her chest. Her eyes were fixed into nothing, her face reduced to a mask of pure terror.

Behind the mangled corpse was her murderer. A lone Caesan stood there, clad in combat armor and with a black helmet on his head. His Plasma Rifle was now aimed at Welkin, and a triumphant grin slowly formed on the Outsider's face.

Welkin was far too horrified and shocked to react. The Caesan aimed for his head with a wide grin…

…and then an explosion shook the area. Welkin fell to the ground, pushed down violently by the shockwave. He could hear the surprised shriek of the Caesan, followed by an unclear human voice:

"…behind you!" Welkin reacted by instinct and turned around opening fire.

A Caesan, fell to the ground, mortally wounded. The same Caesan that was about to shoot his head off mere second before. But, how could he be behind him if…

"Welkin!" The familiar sound of that voice made him turn around. One moment later, Alicia plunged right in his arms.

"Alicia!? How…what…" Welkin did not know what to think anymore. Alicia was dead. He saw that clearly. How could this even be possible?

"And you told me to be careful!" said Alicia angrily. "Then, you turn around and start looking at the entrance like you saw a ghost or something! You should thank that I looked back at you in time, or…or…"

Welkin did not understand. He was not looking at the entrance he was looking at…

"Slow down Alicia. What the hell happened? How did that thing get behind me, if he was in front of me a second ago?"

"What are you talking about? There was nothing in front of you! I also turned around to see what you were looking at, and when I looked back, that Outsider was about to blow your head off! I could not shoot, because you were on the line of fire, so I threw my grenade against the back wall! Luckily it was enough to unbalance him and his shot missed you, but that was far too close! What were you even thinking…"

"Listen, Alicia" interrupted Welkin. "I don't know what the hell happened here, but that Caesan was in front of me, not behind…or at least I saw him there. And he had just…" Welkin could not finish the sentence. Even if it was not actually true, the mere thought of Alicia dead in her own blood still sent shivers down his spine.

"What? What did you…" started Alicia, but suddenly Field Medic Ivanov entered the UFO.

"Thank God you're fine" said the Russian. "I see you took care of things yourselves here. Well, your friend out there seems to have calmed down a bit, but she's still shaking with fear for some reason. You sure she's right in her head or what?"

"There was something wrong with this craft, Ivanov" answered Welkin "Or better…with this particular Outsider". He glanced back to the corpse of the dead Caesan. His combat armor had strange black markings on his arms. An officer, perhaps?

"What do you mean?" asked Ivanov.

"I don't know" answered Welkin "But we have to get back to base quickly. I need to speak with Commander Knight as soon as possible. If what I think is true, we are all in grave danger"


	8. Chapter 8

Dimensions of the mind

"Just like that? I can barely believe it" said Commander Knight. His face, however, betrayed his true thoughts on the matter. For a moment, Welkin saw that the officer was afraid. Very afraid.

"We are being invaded by Aliens, Knight. And I saw Outsiders doing that first hand. Now I'm sure I was not hallucinating and they can actually influence our minds" answered Nina Andrianova.

"If that's true, there's nothing we can do to prevent it" answered Knight. "The Outsiders would have a massive advantage over our troops. If we put it together with their superior technology and sheer brutality, I'm surprised they did not already mass-invade us. Dr. Snidely finally handed me the report, and, as you all know by now, it's not looking good for us"

"Yes, I have been informed" answered Welkin "There's an entire fleet of those UFOs up there, and if they all came down at once, the war would be over before it even started".

"However, they did not" commented Andrianova "And they still don't do that. There has to be something to it. Has Dr. Snidely let us know something more on that matter?"

"Not much" answered Knight "Apparently, he thinks they actually cannot come down _en masse_ for some reason, but as usual…"

"…he wants to be absolutely sure before handing out a report. Yes, I somehow suspected that" said Andrianova with a smile. "However, we must not let this knowledge turn us from our duties. Even if all is lost, we will fight to the last before letting those bastards have their way with our planet. We must focus on the matters at hand, now. The Outsiders can tamper with our minds. At least, some of them can. This means it will become of paramount importance to find and terminate these subjects before they can wreak havoc on our assault teams. We will adapt our strategies accordingly"

"And, meanwhile, hope that Dr. Snidely come up with something actually useful out there in the field, for a change" remarked Knight with a sigh "I'm sure the good doctor understands we cannot win this war with our basic equipment and that the lives of our guys out there are far more valuable that his theoretical research".

"Oh, don't start with that again" reproached Andrianova "Snidely is the best we have when it comes to scientific research. He's doing what he can, but he's working with Alien technology and he's no miracle man. Give him a break, dammit"

Commander Knight scoffed at the remark, but then agreed on changing subject, and reverted on talking about new tactics.

….

"I don't like this one bit" said Rosie. "I did not fear those Outsider freaks, but who knew they could actually…get inside our heads? This is all kinds of bad, and…I don't believe I'm saying this but…I'm scared, people"

"You are? Kind of hard to believe. I saw you fighting, back in Gallia" intervened Largo. "You are not one to just be scared because…"

"You have not seen Jane" interrupted Rosie brusquely. "She still has to come out of infirmary. She reported of Imperial soldiers emerging from the ground all around her and advancing despite all the bullets she shot at them. She nearly killed her own squad members to shoot these imaginary soldiers. She just could not tell what was real anymore. These mind abilities are powerful, Largo. They could make you kill me without a second thought…they could make me kill every single one of you and perhaps even shoot myself. And we have nothing to stop this"

Rosie pushed herself against the wall, then slowly sat on the floor. She still had flashes from the last action quickly passing before her eyes. Jane's crazed behavior…Welkin and Alicia running alone inside the UFO…Jane suddenly starting to calm down after Alicia's grenade disrupted the Outsider's concentration.

She did not realize at first. It was still a war fought with weapons, like the one in Gallia. The Outsiders just had more powerful weaponry; nothing determination and skill could not overcome. But now there were Outsiders capable of killing you without even entering open combat…and if they could do this, who knows what else were they capable of doing.

"Come on, Rosie. Nobody died right? Perhaps this is not so bad. The Boss will find a way to fight this too. He always does, you know" smiled Largo reassuringly. Rosie did not answer. She just shrugged and went out of the room.

Largo was not stupid. He knew that if something was capable of scaring Rosie this way, it had to be bad. Very bad. But even more than the Outsider capabilities, he was afraid of the state Rosie was in at the moment. He never saw her like that before, and felt powerless to help her.

He briefly looked at himself, then at the weapon he picked up from the Armory. Perhaps it was time to start to consider taking to the field again.


End file.
